The Power of Friendship in Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer
Thematic Claim
The novel argues that friendship—especially the kind that forms a chosen family—is the most reliable anchor during life’s worst storms. Romantic love may falter, blood relatives may wound, but the people who choose to stand beside us, challenge us, and track us down with AirTags in our luggage become the true “docking stations” that prevent us from drifting into total isolation. In Just for the Summer, friendship does not just support the central romance; it actively enables the healing that makes that romance possible.
Traced Across the Plot
1. Maddy’s Initial Bond and the Reddit Gambit
In Chapter 1, Emma is on a hospital lunch break when her best friend Maddy shoves a Reddit thread in her face. Emma’s immediate instinct is to dismiss the connection, but Maddy insists she DM the stranger. “Why not?” she shrugs, and when Emma hesitates over sending a picture, Maddy takes the photo herself. This casual push starts the entire relationship. Maddy also reverse-image searches Justin’s Instagram to verify his identity—a protective act that shows she is thinking several steps ahead. From the very first chapter, friendship acts as the catalyst for the plot. Maddy is not just a sounding board; she is the engine that gets Emma to engage with the world.
2. Crisis and Intervention: When Emma Runs
The most powerful demonstration of Maddy’s friendship occurs in Chapter 43–44. After discovering the full extent of Amber’s betrayal and burning Neil’s house down, Emma spirals into a dissociative state. She books a hotel room by the airport, intending to vanish. She tells herself she is “the worst thing that could ever happen” to Justin and Maddy. But Maddy has already anticipated this: she planted AirTags in Emma’s luggage. She arrives at the door with Emma’s favorite sandwich, salt-and-vinegar chips, and apple juice. She does not lecture. She simply watches Emma eat, then gently names the trauma response: “Avoidant attachment relationship style.” Maddy’s refusal to let Emma disappear even when Emma tries to push her away is the core of the theme. She is “a first responder for my soul,” as Emma later reflects.
Earlier, in Chapter 39, when Amber throws Neil’s clothes onto the lawn, Maddy shows up without being asked. Emma is devastated, and Maddy hugs her and says, “Your empathy is beautiful. I hope you never lose that. But you cannot keep caring about her more than you care about yourself.” This is not blind cheerleading; it is tough love that respects Emma’s capacity for compassion while demanding boundaries. Maddy’s friendship includes both comfort and confrontation.
3. Chosen Family Beyond Maddy
Justin’s friends Brad and Benny serve a different but equally vital function. In Chapter 2, Brad argues that the dating curse is real because he himself found happiness after dating one of Justin’s exes. He proposes the scheme that drives the plot: that Emma and Justin should date to “cancel out” the curse. Brad and Benny are the sounding board for Justin’s loneliness as his other friends pair off. They represent a male friendship that is emotionally open and supportive without being sentimental. Later, Brad’s family life—his wife and kids—reminds Justin what stability looks like, and Benny’s presence grounds Justin when he feels like a “right guy at the wrong time.” These friendships show that chosen family can be built from casual bar conversations as well as from years of loyalty.
Character and Symbol Connections
Maddy as the Docking Station
Emma uses the metaphor of an island to describe her emotional isolation. She allows only Maddy and Amber on her island. But Maddy becomes something more: a “docking station,” the same term Emma uses for Justin. In Chapter 39, when Emma is cleaning up Amber’s mess, Maddy hugs her, and the narration says, “My best friend was a docking station.” This image ties friendship to stability, port in a storm. Maddy does not try to live on Emma’s island; she provides a harborage where Emma can rest before returning to sea.
Symbol: The Unicorn and the Rosebush
The unicorn Stuffie represents Emma’s lost childhood innocence. Maddy never interacts directly with Stuffie, but she is the one who preserves the possibility of healing. The rosebush Justin gives Emma requires planting and roots. Maddy’s friendship is what makes it possible for Emma to consider putting down roots at all. Without Maddy’s persistent presence, Emma would never have stayed long enough for the rosebush to grow.
Complexity and Contradiction
Friendship in this novel is not without friction. Maddy and Emma have a major fight over Amber. When Emma chooses to believe Amber’s lies, Maddy steps back—not out of abandonment, but out of self-respect. Emma feels the loss acutely, and it forces her to confront how her avoidance hurts the people who love her. The friendship is tested by Emma’s tendency to isolate, and Maddy’s love includes the hard refusal to enable self-destruction.
Another complexity: Justin’s loneliness despite having friends. Brad and Benny are present, but Justin still feels like a “right guy at the wrong time” because his life is consumed by raising his siblings. His friends cannot fix that structural problem; they can only listen. The novel suggests that friendship sustains, but it does not magically solve material burdens. The power of friendship lies in its constancy during the impossible periods, not in its ability to erase them.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does Maddy’s friendship differ from Emma’s romantic relationship with Justin?
Maddy’s friendship is older, more intuitive, and unafraid to confront Emma’s flaws. While Justin provides a secure romantic attachment, Maddy provides the “first responder” care that catches Emma at her lowest, without expectation of reciprocity. The friendship predates the romance and continues even when Emma tries to end it.
2. Why does Maddy plant AirTags in Emma’s luggage?
Maddy knows Emma’s pattern: when overwhelmed, Emma runs without looking back. The AirTags are a practical expression of a promise she made to never let Emma disappear. They symbolize how true friendship anticipates weakness and builds protective structures without being controlling.
3. In what way do Brad and Benny represent a “chosen family” for Justin?
Justin’s biological family is fractured: his mother goes to prison, his father is absent, and his siblings depend on him. Brad and Benny offer a peer-level support system that validates his dating curse, celebrates his relationship with Emma, and provides normalcy. They are the friends who keep him grounded in everyday life.
4. How does the novel use the island metaphor to highlight the limits of friendship?
Emma’s island has only two people: Maddy and her mother. When Maddy is angry, the island becomes a prison of isolation rather than a refuge. The metaphor shows that friendship alone cannot heal trauma if the individual refuses to build bridges. Maddy can paddle to the island, but Emma must choose to let her dock.
5. What does Maddy’s line “Your empathy is beautiful … but you cannot keep caring about her more than you care about yourself” reveal about the theme?
It reveals that friendship in this novel is not about unconditional agreement. Maddy sees Emma’s empathy as a strength, but one that becomes destructive when it prevents self-care. The heart of the friendship is the willingness to speak hard truths in a way that preserves the bond rather than breaks it.